We, the Living
by bokonon
Summary: Riku is a Swedish student who is studying abroad for the school year at Destiny Island, where he will be living with Sora. Sora/Riku pairing!


**Author's note:** Well, I'm giving this whole writing thing another try. I started a couple of fics a while back, but lost interest/got lazy. But I'm back, though not necessarily with a vegence. But I am ready to at least finish this one. I feel like I should point out that I am probably what would be considered "Old Fashioned" as far as Sora/Riku fics go. I only played the first Kingdom Hearts, and after going through two Playstations that would not last, I decided to just give up Playstation. Subsequently, I never got a chance to play any other Kingdom Hearts games. Based on other fics I've read, I've gleaned that AT LEAST Axel and Roxas are characters introduced in later Kingdom Hearts games; thus I don't know anything about them. I haven't decided if I'll put them or others in this story, as I'm not familiar with them in any way, other than what I've read from other fics.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, and I'll only say it once.

**Summary**: Riku is a Swedish exchange student, coming to live with Sora, his host student, for the school year on Destiny Island. NUF SAID

(NOTE: There is some Swedish in the story, but it's very little and simple. I've included footnotes for conversations between Riku and his mother, so don't sweat it if you can't read Swedish. For those who can--_j__ättebra!!_)

* * *

"Okej, flygplanet lämnar snart, Riku."

"Ja," Riku replied gathering his bangs, his body scribbled with the straps of a backpack, a laptop case, and a carry-on bag; rolling suitcase pulled behind him.

"Ringa mig när är du där, okej?" Riku's mother insisted.

"Okej, jag ska."

"Du har allt? Pass? Bagage?"

"Javisst, jar har allt. Jag måste lämna nu. Vi ses, mamma."

"Adjö," Riku's mother said, with a tinge of pain, collecting her son in one last embrace before his departure.

"Adjö," said Riku as he began to depart from his mother.*

Riku boarded the plane and endured all the formalities thereof. He was nervous, to say the least. Yet excited, too (ambivalence was to be expected)—though who wouldn't be in his position? It's not every day a Swede gets to go study abroad on Destiny Island.

He looked out the window at the ever shrinking ground beneath him, as the plane began liftoff, frowning as he rubbed his ears to dull the popping sensation felt upon liftoff. Once cruising altitude was reached and was announced by the captain, who of course sounded exactly the same as every other captain Riku had heard speak on an airplane, Riku pulled out a book of Sudoku puzzles, smiling complacently to himself.

- - - -

"Sora! Are you ready yet? We have to go to the airport soon!"

"I'm coming, Mom! Jeez…"

Sora was as mixed as Riku about being a host student to a Swedish student for a whole year. Nervous, excited—though not really sad because he wasn't leaving his mother and homeland. Still, having a new person living with you when you've been so used to being the only child may have its drawbacks. He'll be fine.

Sora made his way into the kitchen with his mother to get ready to go to the airport.

"What's this kids name again, Mom?"

She sighed. "Riku. Please try to have some manners and at least remember his name, Sora."

"I will!" Sora huffed. "It's just early, I'm not thinking clearly," he reasoned.

"Clearly," said Sora's mother.

Sora shot a light glare her way then rolled his eyes and proceeded to look for some cereal to eat.

"Ah ah-ah, Sora! No time to eat, we have to go; Riku's plane will be arriving soon.

"What?" Sora protested. "Why did you wake me up so late?"

"I tried to wake you up earlier, but you just wouldn't wake up. Now come on, we have to go."

Sora groaned, frustrated that he'd have to forgo breakfast. He grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water and followed his mother out the door and to the car.

- - - -  
"So are you excited?" Sora's mother asked, in the car on the way to the airport.

"Of course I am, I've never met a Swedish person before.

It's gonna be weird having someone else living in the house, though. Like a sibling or something."

"You'll live. In fact I'm sure you'll like not being the only kid in the house, yeah?"

"Maybe," Sora conceded.

In fact, Sora was looking forward to that the most. Being an only child had its logistical perks, but company was hard to come by. He was looking forward to having someone at least to talk to that wasn't his mom—not that he didn't like talking to his mom; talking to your parents is just different than talking to someone your own age. Then Sora had a worried thought.

"He speaks English, right?"

"Oh yes, most Swedes apparently speak wonderful English."

"Good," Sora said with relief. A language barrier was the last thing he needed. "Do you know what it sounds like?"

"Hmmm," she pondered. "I don't really know. It's supposed to sound a lot like English, I hear. With a little German."

Sora got a little excited by this, though he refrained from expressing his excitement.

His mother finally reached the airport and searched for a sufficient parking spot. She found one, and she and Sora exited the car and began walking towards the terminal where Riku's plane was to land. Sora became more excited with every step of his left foot and more nervous with every step of his right.

They reached the terminal where his plane should be landing any minute now, sat, and waited.

"Do you think he'll like it here?" Sora asked.

"Well hopefully he will. It may take him a while getting used to a new place, but I think he'll be just happy."

"What kind of food do they eat in Sweden?"

She laughed, "Same kind of food we eat, I'm sure."

Sora's mother was able to pick up on the fact that her son was nervous, due to all his questions. Normally he was content to be silent, but she could tell that he was nervous—and excited, and whatever else he was feeling—because he couldn't stop fidgeting, and he couldn't stop asking questions.

"What time is in it Sweden, do you know?" Sora asked again.

Sora's mom looked up and said, "Why don't you ask Riku yourself?"

Sora's eyes went big as he looked up and gaped as he saw Riku with his long silver hair and deep sea green eyes that pierced through the distance between Riku and Sora and Sora's mother.

"Wow, he was right—we would have no problem trying to find him. I didn't realize that silver hair meant…well, _silver_ hair." Sora's mom laughed.

Sora couldn't respond for a moment. He quickly scanned his specimen up and down, squinting trying to discern every detail. He was amazed how his silver hair went perfectly with his pale skin and green eyes. He swallowed hard before realizing Riku smiled in his direction and waved. Sora shook himself from his thoughts and looked over to see his mom waving at him, letting him know that they were his host family.

He started heading in their direction as Sora's mom starting walking towards him, signaling Sora to come along as well.

"Hello! You must be Riku," Sora's mother said, giving Riku a welcoming hug.

"Yes," he said, a little surprised at the hug. "And you must be Sora's mother."

"Please, call me Aries. And this Sora," Aries said motioning to Sora.

Sora made eye contact with Riku and smiled hard, thrusting his hand in front of Riku for a friendly handshake. "Hey, I'm Sora. It's nice to finally meet you, Riku."

"It's nice to meet you too," Riku said, taking Sora's almost timidly. Sora was already in love with his accent and found it hard to keep himself from blushing

"Oh, you must be so tired, carrying all those bags! Here let me help" Aires offered, taking a bag from Riku's shoulder and handing it to Sora. "Do you still need to pick up your suitcase?" Aries asked, a little slower than she'd ask a native speaker.

"Oh yes, I think I pick it up over there," he said, pointing behind them.

"Okay then, let's go!" Aries said.

They all started walking towards the luggage pick-up conveyor belt and waited behind as Riku waited for his suitcase.

Aries had noticed her son's silence since Riku's arrival. "You okay?" she asked.

"Huh?" Sora said, pulling his gaze away from Riku. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just got quiet when Riku showed up, that's all."

"Oh, well, he, uh, looks different," Sora stammered. "I'm not used to silver hair." He concluded, with a little more confidence in his reasoning.

His mother smiled and chuckled to herself.

Once Riku had retrieved his suitcase, he approached Aries and Sora and Aries offered Sora to take his suitcase, which Sora expectedly obliged. They began walking back to the car, carrying on light conversation.

"How was the flight Riku?" Aries asked.

"Oh, it wasn't bad. There weren't any crying babies, so it was relatively quiet on the plane," Riku responded.

"That's good." Aries noticed that she was doing most of the conversing with Riku, so she decided that Sora need be brought into the conversation.

"So Sora, tell Riku what his new school will be like." Aries suggest.

Riku looked to the back seat where Sora was sitting, who was currently trying to shake off a nervous blush. "Uhm, well, I guess it's pretty cool as far as schools go—though I've never been to a different one," Sora considered. "It's not terribly clique-y, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't any cliques. Do you know what classes you're taking this year?"

"Yes, I have my schedule somewhere in my bag." Riku offered.

"We can compare later when we get home and I can help you find your classes when school starts."

"Okay," Riku smiled.

Sora smiled back and felt a small sensation of excitement. This worried him, because he was sure the last thing he needed was a crush on the foreign student who was going to be living with him for the school year. As enticing and fantastical such a situation might be. Sora shook the thought from his head and tried to focus on the practical reasons to be excited about hosting a foreign student for a year. Cultural education, new perspective on things—all the liberal and intellectual reasons that people are interested in foreigners that everyone will repeat automatically, simply because they are supposed to appreciate cultural diversity over irrational fantasies.

Sora was trying to logically work out the situation in his head to keep him from developing a crush that he already felt coming. He was used to it though; falling for people quickly, though. Every teenage does, as far as he knew. How else would anyone react to meeting someone like Riku for the first time? Just look at him. And look he did, at the back of Riku's head poking from behind the head rest in front of Sora. His hair looked impressively soft, and Sora had the urge to run his fingers through it to see what it felt like; but he reasoned that that would be unbecoming of him to do, having just met Riku. He concluded to himself with a smirk that there'd be a whole school-year's amount of time to feel his hair (about this he was only half serious).

Sora was brought from his reverie by his mother's announcement of their arrival home.

"Here we are," she sang with a smile.

Riku looked to the house in front of the driveway they pulled into, gaping almost.

"It's very nice," Riku said stepping out of the car.

"Why thank you," Aries said with a smile, leading Riku and Sora to the front door. Sora rolled his eyes at his mother's flattery as he retrieved Riku's suitcase from the trunk.

Aries walked into the house, followed by Riku and Sora. "This is the house," Aries began. "This is the living room; that's my room, that's Sora's, and this one will be yours." She led them to the door she designated as Riku's. She showed him in and Sora followed, bringing in Riku's suitcase and setting it down on the bed.

"Thank you," Riku said to Sora.

Sora smiled. "No problem." He paused for a moment, and then asked, "How do you say 'thank you' in Swedish?"

Riku chuckled to himself, "Tack."

"Tack?" Sora confirmed.

Riku nodded.

"I'm sure you'll be giving us Swedish lessons often, Riku," Aries laughed. "Gratis, I hope," she added after a pause.

Riku laughed and Sora chuckled, adding, "Yeah."

"Of course," Riku replied.

"Excellent!" Aries chimed. "I better be fluent by the time you leave," she said jokingly, giving Riku a wide, toothy grin that made Sora almost cringe with embarrassment.

"Anyway," Aries went on, "Is there anything you need? Anything to drink or eat?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine for now."

"Are you tired any? I'm sure you must have some extreme jetlag, so if you'd like to rest for a while you certainly can. What time was it in Sweden when you left?"

"It was about nine in the morning."

"Well it's about ten in the morning now, so over twelve hours after you left it's only been an hour," she noted.

Riku mused himself about that, realizing how little sleep he had gotten. He conceded that a nap would probably be nice, but didn't want to just shut himself in a room the moment he arrived to a new country, his new house. He scanned the room and assumed that it was a guest room of sorts, lacking any decorative scheme beyond neutral sheets and whitewash walls. A small desk was placed opposite the bed, next to a window that gave a great view of the sea surrounding the island; Riku had not realized how close he was going to live to the coast. The house was situated atop a slight rocky cliff with tall trees that descended and petered into the sandy beach along the sea.

"If and whenever you like, Sora will show you around. There's the beach down that way," Aries motioned with her pointing finger. "And other nature in other directions."

Sora rolled his eyes and, fearing more rambling from his mother, asked Riku, "Do you need to use the phone to call your parents back in Sweden or anything?"

Riku snapped his attention to Sora, remembering that his mother asked him to call. "Yes, actually. My mom wanted me to call her."

"Okay," said Sora. "The phone's out here."

Riku followed Sora out of the room, with Aries following Riku, adding, "Oh yes of course! Also Sora, I'm going to leave soon to go to work; I only told them I'd be a few hours late."

"Okay, Mom," Sora called back to her.

Sora found the phone in the kitchen and handed it to Riku, who replied with a short, "Tack."

Sora smiled. "How do you say 'you're welcome' in Swedish?"

"Uhhm," Riku pondered. Well, there isn't really a direct phrase like 'you're welcome.' But you can say 'varsågod,' which can be used like 'you're welcome.'"

Sora blinked and repeated. "Var-så-god?"

"Yeah!" Riku replied.

"Okay. Well, varsågod!" Sora laughed.

Riku smirked to Sora, who had a slight, warm blush form on his cheeks at the sight of Riku's smirk; this blush however was missed on Riku's part, as he looked down to the phone to begin dialing, remembering the number to dial for making international calls to Sweden.

Sora turned away to look for something to drink from the fridge. He pulled out a water bottle, and closed the door as his mother walked into the kitchen. Aries was about to speak before Riku began speaking in Swedish on the phone. She and Sora listened to him unassumingly.

"Hej!

"Ja, Jag är här nu.

"Det är jätter fint.

"Ja, de är så snälla

"Okej. Ja. Okej, jag ska.

Okej, vel kommer att ja somna nu. Jag är jätter trött.

Adjö." Riku hung up the phone and turned around to Sora and Aries, who he had assumed were listening to him. They both smiled and Aries began, "Swedish is a very beautiful language, I admit."

"Thanks," Riku said with a light chuckle, looking down.

Aries smiled as she threw her purse over her arm. "Well, I'm going to work now. Make yourself at home, Riku. Sora will be here so he can show you around if you want. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Okay?"

"Okay," Riku answered. "Thank you very much."

"I'll see you two later this evening when I get off. Have a good day, and welcome to Destiny Island!" Aries sang out as she walked out of the door.

When she had left, Sora let out a long and exaggerated sigh. "Finally. I'm sorry if she talks too much. She's very friendly, so she just talks and talks."

Riku laughed and said, "Oh no, she's wonderful."

Sora pondered that, and then shrugged it off, deciding to ask Riku if he wanted anything to eat or drink.

"I guess I'd like some water."

"Sure thing," Sora said as he grabbed another bottle and tossed it to Riku, who caught it with ease.

"Tack."

"Varsågod." Sora smiled, and Riku smiled back. They smiled at each other for a brief moment—not too long—until Sora broke eye contact and said, "Hey, how about you unpack and get adjusted to your new room and then we can go for a walk and I'll show you around."

"Okay," Riku said obligingly. He took another sip of water before capping the bottle and walking out of the kitchen to his new room to unpack.

"I'll be in the living room, so whenever you're finished and ready to go, just let me know."

"Okay," Riku said back to Sora.

Sora went to the living room and laid down on the couch and picked up a book to read. He looked back at Riku's closed door, then looked back at his book, not expecting himself to read any of it. He put it back on the table in front of him and turned the TV instead, trying not to think about Riku.

It didn't work.

- - - -  
*- "Okay, the plane's leaving soon, Riku."  
"Yeah"  
"Call me when you are there, okay?"  
"Okay, I will."  
"Do you have everything? Passport? Luggage?"  
"Of course, I have everything. I have to go now. See you later, Mom."  
"Adieu"

**- "Hey  
"Yeah, I'm here now.  
"It's really nice.  
"Yeah, they're very nice.  
"Okay. Yes. Okay, I will.  
"Okay, well I'm going to go to sleep now. I'm really tired."

* * *

Being the first chapter, it's rather uneventful, while being, obviously, the starting point for the story--which hardly could be considered uneventuful in that respect. Nevertheless, the story will progress--which means that Sora and Riku will progress. One can only wonder what such progression may entail! SUSPENSE

Anyway, TACK for reading at least this much! Please leave reviews, comments, criticisms, and the like! I'm very eager to get this story written, and I feel like not getting much feedback in the past caused me to lose interest then. But hopefully not this time!

Best,  
Bokonon


End file.
